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Name: Hollywood
Age: Named 1887; incorporated 1903.
Appearance: Empty Los Angeles neighbourhood, overlooked by a giant sign.
Empty? But it’s full of stars! The only stars in Hollywood are on the pavement.
Someone should help them up. These stars are the commemorative plaques comprising the Walk of Fame, a major tourist attraction.
So Hollywood is full of tourists. Not so much these days – tourism marketing organisation Visit California is predicting a 9 % decline in international tourism in 2025.
That’s not great, is it? It equates to about 170,000 fewer visitors. And things seem even worse in Los Angeles, where businesses on Hollywood Boulevard are reporting a 50% fall in foot traffic this summer.
How come? Several reasons. First, they had those devastating wildfires in January.
Second, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was named the world’s worst tourist attraction in 2023, with disappointed visitors citing a persistent smell of urine.
Did that stop anyone visiting? No, actually. Numbers were up in 2024.
What other reason could there be? We might blame the fallout from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, with reports of foreign tourists being detained or randomly denied entry.
So this is all part of the Trump slump? He’s certainly not helping. Trump’s hostile and frankly weird treatment of Canada – punitive tariffs, and repeated declarations of his intention to annex the country – has contributed to a sharp drop in tourism.
How sharp? California alone has had a 38% drop in Canadian tourists over the past year, and Canada is its biggest international market.
Is this happening to other American tourist spots? Bookings at Yosemite national park – also in California – were down 50 % over the Memorial Day weekend in May. Las Vegas has seen an 8 % fall so far this year. Florida visitor numbers dropped from 19.4m to 15.9m.
So the news is terrible all over. Overall the US is expected to experience an 8.2 % decline in international tourism in 2025, including 25 % fewer Canadian visitors.
How might a tourism expert describe such numbers? “This is a wake-up call for the US government,” said Julia Simpson, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Will Trump see sense before America hosts the World Cup next year? What do you think?
Do say: “This is bigger than Hollywood – the world’s largest tourist economy is in freefall.”
Don’t say: “Come to America – your chances of getting in are still pretty high.”
